Knitting-machine



W, AIKEN. KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Aug. 7, 1860.

WITNESSES:

NVENTO'R.'

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UNITE STABS WALTER AIKEN, OF FRANKLIN, NIMV HAMPSHIRE.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known `that I, WALTER AIKEN, of Franklin, in the county ofMerrimack and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Knitting-Machines; and I do hereby declare thatthe same are described and represented in the following specificationand drawings.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvements Iwill proceed to describe their construction and operation, referring tothe drawings, in which the same letters indicate like parts in each ofthe figures.

Figure l, is a plan or top view. Fig. 2, is a plan of the bottom. Fig.3, is the under side of the top circle. Fig. 4, is a portion of theupper side of the lower circle. Fig. 5, is a section of the machine cutperpendicularly through the center.

The nature of my invention and improvements in knitting machines,consist in providing some sliding traversing` sinkers to push or press.the fabric knit olf of the needles between which the sinkers areoperated, and in supporting the wheel that presses or holds the work orfabric knit back on the needles, by an arm bent or curved around to theunder side of the wheel, so that the top of the pivot on which the wheelturns may pass freely under the needles.

In the accompanying drawings A, is a circular plate of metal providedwith a flange B, to project down around the plate C, as shown in Fig. 5.The edge of the flange B, is provided with teeth acted upon by the gearD, so as to turn the plate A, and operate the machine. The shaft of gearD, turns in the stand E, fastened to under side of the plate C, as shownin Fig. 2. This shaft may have a pulley, gear or crank applied to it toturn it, so as to operate the machine, either by hand or power.

C, is a circular plate made in the form shown in the drawing with arebate around its lower outside edgeas shown at F, in which the pointsof the screws Gr, Gr, travel which are screwed through the flange B, soas to hold the plate A, down to the plate C, while it turns on it whenthe machine is operated.

The plate C, is grooved on its upper surface for the needles H, andsinkers I, which are arranged alternately in it; the grooves for thesinkers being more than twice as deep as the grooves for the needles.The

needle F ig. 6, is made with a hook and latch iK, which falls down onthe hook as the sinker pushes the stitches off of the needles, after thethread carrier or hole L,in the latchopener Z1, has supplied or laid theyarn in the hooks of the needles. The latch opener Z), is fastened tothe circle A, and carried around by it. The ends of the shanks of theneedles H, are bent at a right angle as shown in Fig. G, and the part sobent fits a score in the edge of the plate C, cut down from the needlegrooves for that purpose. The sinkers I, are made of thin plate metal inthe form shown in Fig. 7, and the lug J, projects above the top of theplate C, into the cam groove L, in the plate A, which groove traversesthe sinkers I, that is the port-ion L', of the groove draws the sinkersback, so as to allow the presser wheel M, under the needles to push thestitches and fabric back on the needles beyond the ends of the latches,and at the same time the cam groove draws the sinkers back out of theway of the latch opener a, which passes along and delivers the yarn tothe hooks of the needles, when the sinkers are pushed out by the portionL2, of the groove, so as to push the stitches forward, close the latchesand push the old stitches over the latches ofi'1 of the ends of theneedles, so as to form new stitches ofthe yarn laid in the hooks of theneedles. After the sinkers have been pushed out by the part L2, they aredrawn back by the part L3, to their normal position. It is necessary toattach a weight to the fabric knit to draw it down, and keep a propertension on the stitches. The presser wheel M, is provided with smallteeth, so as to roll freely against the fabric and it turns on a st-udin the arm N, which arm is fastened to the circle A, as shown in thedrawing and bent around or curved around under the ends of the needlesand far enough below them to permit the presser wheel M, to t-urn on astud projecting up from its lower end under the ends of the needles.There is a groove in the plate deep enough to allow a needle or 'sinkerto be taken out which groove is filled by the key P, with a score in itto correspond with the cam groove L, in the plate A.

By curving the arm around so as to support the presser wheel from theunder side is a very great advantage as it allows the use of a verysmall wheel, as the needles may project over its center when the wheelis 2. The sliding traversing sinkers arranged in the manner described incombination with stationary needles, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. Supporting the Wheel that presses or holds the Work or fabric back onthe needles by an arm bent or curved around to the under side of theWheel substantially as de- Y scribed.

WALTER AIKEN. Vitnesses:

E. S. PHILBRICK, N. H. SANBORN.

